Nigel Farage Spars With Dems As He Warns About ‘Authoritarian’ Crackdown On Free Speech

British Member of Parliament Nigel Farage fended off attacks from Democrats on Wednesday while he warned lawmakers about threats to free speech Americans may face from his home country. 

Farage, the leader of Reform U.K., gave the warning as he testified before the House Judiciary Committee at a hearing on “Europe’s Threats to American Speech and Innovation.” The British politician pointed to the arrest of Irish comedian Graham Linehan for posts he made critical of transgender ideology as a warning for Americans who may hope to visit England one day. 

“This could happen to any American man or woman [who] goes to Heathrow [who] has said things online that the British government and British police don’t like. It is a potentially big threat to tech bosses, to many, many others,” Farage said. “This legislation we’ve got will damage trade between our countries, threaten free speech across the West because of the knock-on rollout effects of this legislation from us or from the European Union.”

Farage, whose party appears poised for a major victory in the next United Kingdom elections, urged American politicians and business leaders to stand up to the British government. 

“I come from a land of Magna Carta, I come from a land that gave us the mother of parliaments, and it doesn’t give me any great joy to be sitting in America and describing the really awful, authoritarian situation that we have now sunk into,” he said. 

The center of Farage’s ire is a law called the Online Safety Act, which he says was written vaguely to allow for a crackdown on speech the British government doesn’t like. 

Farage was repeatedly pressed by Democrats on the committee, who attacked him as a “fringe politician.” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the committee, said that Farage was a “far-right pro-Putin politician” and a “Trump sycophant and wannabe.” 

“I’m delighted to reacquaint with the charming Mr. Raskin,” Farage said. “Delightful testimony you gave me earlier on with your speech. But hey, that’s fine, you can say what you like, I don’t care. Because that’s what free speech is.”

Reform U.K. leader @Nigel_Farage: “I’m delighted to reacquaint with the charming Mr.Raskin. Delightful testimony you gave me earlier on with your speech. But hey, that’s fine, you can say what you like, I don’t care. Because that’s what free speech is.” pic.twitter.com/kfY7mfmJ4X

— CSPAN (@cspan) September 3, 2025

“We will do whatever we can that is practical to protect kids from serious harm online, but we will get back to the idea that I can insult you, you can insult me, Mr. Raskin and I can have our chats,” Farage later said. “But we do it in a spirit that’s not inciteful and in a way that honors those who built our great countries.”

Georgia Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson also attacked Farage, trying to claim that Trump was Farage’s mentor and pointing out that the British politician attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last year. 

???????????? @Nigel_Farage HUMILIATES @RepHankJohnson!

Watch for yourself. ???? pic.twitter.com/XrEDCBKoLt

— House Judiciary GOP ???????????????????????? (@JudiciaryGOP) September 3, 2025

Another witness who testified during the hearing was Alliance Defending Freedom International lawyer Lorcán Price, who testified about the dangers of the European Union’s Digital Services Act. 

“Why should this matter for Americans? Why should you be concerned? Because of the worldwide reach of European law,” Price said. “The so-called Brussels effect changes regulation in every area that the European Union chooses to regulate, and now they’ve entered the business of regulating speech.”

That act empowers the European Commission to impose significant financial penalties on tech companies it claims are not doing enough to combat so-called disinformation. In some circumstances, American tech companies could be fined up to six percent of their global revenue if they violate certain conditions.